The use of fireplaces is widespread because of the comfort, heat and entertainment they provide. The expense of firewood, the inconvenience of chopping one's own wood, retrieving wood when the fire bums down and stoking the fire are some of the drawbacks of wood burning fireplaces. Further, when burning wood, the combustion of the wood is often incomplete and large pieces of unburned wood fall below the grate and remain unburned.
In recent years several alternatives to burning wood which simulate burning wood have been developed. For example, gas in combination with artificial noncombustible logs is a popular alternative because its easy to use. Specifically, the fire is controlled by the turn of a gas knob and, because gas is the fuel consumed, there are no resulting ashes which must be cleared out of the fireplace. A disadvantage with the use of gas is it can be hazardous. Further, the flame produced by burning gas is usually limited in height and defines a finger-like configuration as opposed to the sheet-like configuration of burning wood.
Combustible simulated logs have also become popular but do not provide the same atmosphere of a stack of burning logs.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fire log arrangement which can be used in conjunction with a combustible fuel source such as wood.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fire log arrangement which saves fuel by influencing complete combustion of the combustible fuel.
Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fire log arrangement configured such that the requirement to stoke or tend the fire is minimal.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a fire log arrangement which provides efficient fuel consumption.
Moreover, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fire log arrangement wherein the fire is surrounded by a noncombustible material to provide a safer arrangement.